Uncompromising (Age Gap, gxg)

Chapter 24

               In all the time that we'd lived in our house, Elliot had never come down for Halloween, let alone for the party, and suddenly he was here tonight, right after our divorce was finalized? Seriously, what the fuck was he doing here?

But sure enough, there he was, standing in the kitchen with a drink in his hand while talking to Deb. Deb, like Larry, was decked out as a zombie with all the makeup, while Elliot was wearing a pair of pressed slacks and a golf shirt. I shuddered at the thought that I must have looked out of place like that in years past without a costume. But I couldn't dwell on it, as he saw us and walked our way, waving at the girls and visibly leering at me as he got closer.

"Hey, babe. I was hoping you might stop by." He was all puffed up as he stood in front of me, and all the other girls stood in a circle around me as if to protect me. Sorry, everyone but Raquel, who had already wandered off to get food.

"I'm not your babe," I reminded him. "The papers have all been signed and filed. You're nothing but a mistake at this point. Why are you even here?"

"I came to see my girls! And you, of course. I missed you." He was smiling like a used car dealer trying to make a sale, and none of us were buying it. Even worse, his eyes were moving up and down my body, and I didn't like it nearly as much as when Zee had done it. "Come on babe, don't tell me you haven't missed me."

"What happened, did your girls back home find out about the divorce? Are you back home to beg your mom for some money?" I wondered in a harsh whisper. My girls all knew what happened, and I didn't mind Zee finding out the truth, but I would save him the embarrassment of saying it too loudly. I wasn't too much of an asshole, I just wanted him to leave us alone. "Just stay away from us."

"Oh, come on! Can't we pretend we're a family for a night?"

"No," I replied quite clearly as I pointed to all the girls. "We're a family, and you're not a part of it. If the girls want to spend time with you tonight, that is their prerogative, but we want to enjoy our night, and no offence, but seeing you isn't helping that in the least."

"Dad, this isn't cool, at all!" Gracie told him darkly. "You should have at least called instead of making everyone uncomfortable."

"Seriously," agreed Hollie. "Wanting to pretend we're a family after ghosting us for most of our lives is a joke."

He opened his mouth to protest that, but I just shut him up. "They're right Elliot. They barely know you, and showing up unannounced like this to a party that you know they love isn't the way to do it. I have no idea what made you think this would be a good idea."

I detoured around him, heading into the main group of people at the party. There were a lot of neighbors, the majority in costume, all enjoying themselves. Some had brought kids, and others were anywhere from teens and college kids to some other people my age. All of the girls stuck with me, with Hollie and Zee staying between me and Elliot, even as Zee kept her promise of feeding Hollie some sweets.

There were a lot of happy people at the party, but I was no longer one of them. "I can't believe he's here," I muttered under my breath. "I didn't even realize he ever got an invitation."

"It's okay mom. We'll be by you all night," Hollie promised. "I'm just wishing I picked a different costume so I could hug you right now!"

"I'm your arms for the night," Zee reminded her. "I'll give her a hug for you." She wasted no time in hugging me, which was both wonderfully sneaky and exactly what I needed. Hollie even smiled at the sight, making me feel ten times better. "I got you," she added in a low whisper that only I could hear over the chatter of the party.

Yeah, she was going to get a nice reward tonight!

At least Gracie and Jashanna were having fun, having found several of their classmates to hang out with while Zee and Hollie kept me company. I felt bad, because normally I would be talking to some of the other adults and catching up. I wasn't super friendly with them, but there were several neighbors I recognized. I just didn't want to be alone and have Elliot confront me again. Granted, I'd love for Zee to stay by my side all night, and Hollie was really helping be a barrier too, but it was a party and not fair to the two of them to be stuck with me.